This special issue underscores the progressive nature of systematic reviews, emphasizing their adaptability to global changes and their potential to inspire innovative solutions. As tourism and hospitality continue to evolve, systematic reviews remain essential tools for navigating the challenges and opportunities in this complex and interconnected landscape. Their role in integrating diverse perspectives and methodologies ensures that research efforts remain relevant and impactful, addressing both theoretical advancements and practical demands.

Recognizing the importance of the active senior cohort (between the ages of 50 to 77) in tourism, this study systematically reviewed senior tourism research from 2013 to 2023 from Australian Business Deans Council-listed journals to identify key researchers contributing to the senior tourism discipline and trends to propose a future research agenda. The research revealed that the active senior demographic is a diverse group with different lifestyles, cultural backgrounds, health statuses, and financial resources, emphasizing that age alone is insufficient to provide a comprehensive understanding of senior tourism. The study also highlights emerging areas in senior tourism, such as artificial intelligence and social media, aligning with broader themes of innovation and dynamic capabilities that are associated with quality of life, leisure, and constraints. The findings underscore the importance of ongoing research and interdisciplinary collaboration for a nuanced understanding of the needs of active senior travelers. Key findings underscore the evolving research themes in senior tourism, emphasizing the importance of designing tourism products and destinations that cater to active senior tourists’ specific needs and preferences. These outcomes are critical for enhancing the active senior tourism industry and ensuring fulfilling travel experiences for this growing demographic.

This study comprehensively examined tourism research in post-Soviet nations, focusing on how it has been addressed in leading tourism journals. Employing the PRISMA framework, a systematic literature review was conducted to provide a novel, dual perspective by comparing English and Russian language publications. The analysis encompasses 110 articles (63 in Russian and 47 in English) spanning from 1991 to 2024. Findings reveal distinct differences between English and Russian research approaches, reflecting the varied stages of tourism development in these countries. Notably, Russian literature predominantly focuses on practical destination issues and showcases an early stage of academic development, while English literature offers a broader range of theoretical insights and explicit policy recommendations. The study highlights significant research gaps, particularly in regions like Belarus, Moldova, and the Caucasus nations, and emphasizes the need for innovative research methodologies in Russian literature. Overall, the research in post-Soviet tourism development appears to be in an emerging phase, with geopolitical alignments, EU membership, and historical legacies significantly influencing its trajectory

With the Internet often serving as the primary source of information for people with disabilities, ensuring digital inclusion and accessibility is essential for supporting independent travel planning and accessing health information. This study, which is of significant importance, investigated information ableism in the U.S. by evaluating the web content accessibility of 50 state Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and 50 state health departments. Using the AChecker tool, the findings indicated that DMOs' web pages had more accessibility issues compared to those of state health departments. Significant discrepancies in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were particularly evident in providing text alternatives for non-text content and input assistance in the DMOs’ web pages. The study discusses these findings' implications and suggests future research directions.

This study comprehensively analyzed customer tipping behavior in foodservice contexts over the past twenty years (2003-2023) in the United States. Utilizing a scoping review approach, the research utilized bibliometric analysis and qualitative synthesis to explore trends and gaps in the literature. Specifically, it mapped the research domain and extracted key themes by statistically examining academic publications. The findings, derived from a refined dataset of 103 articles, revealed the interdisciplinary nature of tipping research, primarily explored by social psychologists and economists. Three main research themes emerged: social psychology and management, economics, and socio-cultural, each offering unique insights into customer tipping behavior. This study not only elucidates the current understanding of tipping practices but also highlights significant research gaps, guiding future scholarly inquiries in this evolving field